From time to time, letters appear in the local press from people who have, in the past, suffered an injustice. Anyone who so writes has every reason to do so, because in a democratic country like Malta, such matters should have been put in order a long time ago. Several Parliamentary Questions have been put from members of both sides of the House. Time has passed and many of those who suffered an injustice are still with the written recommendation in their hands.

Following this, more than 16 months ago, a Select Committee of the House, with members from both the government and Opposition, was set up with an agenda to strengthen democracy in Malta. This committee was expected to see that pending cases of injustice are resolved and should have submitted a report about unresolved cases by the end of October 2008.

To date, 16 months later, nobody has heard anything from it. Injustices are suffered by both Labourites and Nationalists. When will the pending recommendations pronounced against the government by the Injustices Commission, Tribunals and the Office of the Ombudsman, be effected and the injustices suffered redressed?

Lately, just before the Christmas and New Year’s Parliamentary recess, in reply to PQ No. 13589, the Prime Minister said that there have been some developments. To another parliamentary question about the same subject, made to the deputy Prime Minister after the Christmas holidays, the answer was that pending cases regarding injustices were not discussed by a select committee but somewhere else.

The time has now come when anyone who has suffered an injustice, be he a red, blue or green supporter, should received compensation. Every Maltese/ European citizen is conscious that he is not living in a banana republic, where stability, freedom and democracy never prevail.

Have the Maltese people a right to know about the developments hinted at in the replies to Parliamentary Questions 13589 and 13900 put to the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister respectively?

Who from among the members of the House will have the courage to ask the government to indicate the stage the talks on the implementation of recommendations regarding injustices have reached?

Although those citizens who were left with the recommendations in their hands are a minority group, I think they still have the right to receive what is due to them.

Will the Opposition consider tabling a motion in Parliament to discuss this matter of outstanding recommendations, as it did in the case of other important matters in the name of democracy?

I would argue that now is the time when empty words and phrases should be done away with, and the Opposition should put the utmost pressure on the government to give everyone his due. If, on the other the hand, the government is not prepared or pleased to come to terms, then the Opposition should stop cooperating with the government on any legislation, the exception being only matters of national importance.

Joe Masini

VICTORIA

(Mr Masini is a former District Secretary and a former election manager for the Labour Party in Gozo, and sat on the Labour Party Executive Council between 1999 and 2003)